Just back and not happy

[slickpoetry]

yes but that refers to the Halloween and Christmas parties. Those are not new and they are not inventions of the current management. (Granted, the current management has greatly increased the number of days the party is offered, I'm guessing they would not have done that if there hadn't been demand, though.)

There's always the option to go to WDW during the 8 months of the year when they do not have hard ticket parties at MK.

Very true, and as a person who plans ahead I would know when the parties are and how to plan around them to not waste my money. Apparently there's a whole subset of the population does not like to plan ahead, though.

 

[angelia denise]

Sorry this is going to be a rant! Every time I come across one of these threads, when I read between the lines this is what I hear:

• I went to the parks for the 50th time in 2 years and I didn't get to be in front of every line in the parks!
  
• I made poor restaurant choices without doing simple menu research and hated the food choices which were expensive. (Note: comparatively speaking, amusement park vacation food has always been expensive! My first Disney trip was as a child in 1957 at Disneyland and my parents were alarmed at the cost of food!)
  
• A new ride in the kiddie area of fantasy land was built for children and my preteen kids thought it would be a thrill ride.
  
• Without checking all the available information including available maps for locations on a very popular event that we attended, I was surprised and angry that I didn't bump into all the major characters just walking down the street

As for myself, I read everything I can about any vacation location. Make my plans ahead of time, monitor and adjust my expectations based on crowds, weather, energy level and know that I may have to stand in line - gasp. I remember standing in really crazy, long lines in 1957 as well - guess what? No fast pass, front of the line access at all.

I was thinking the same thing...

 

[cedricandsophie]

We love the parties at MK. Going in December just for very merry Christmas party. But we would never waste a days ticket and then buy an extra ticket too. We simply don't go to parks thst day until after 4 or 5 when you can get into MK on your special ticket. You know far in advance when the special nights at MK are going on so it is pretty easy to plan ahead

 

[itchin2go]

Apparently there's a whole subset of the population does not like to plan ahead, though.

.... and then wants to complain after the fact about things they could have planned ahead for!

Where is your time better spent?

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

Sometimes people have unrealistic expectations, or think of solely the "good old days". My last time to Disney was not fun and it had nothing to do with Disney. I have ESRD (Kidney failure) and the last time I went (December of 2012), my water overload was so bad that I couldn't walk 50 feet without being out of breathe. I am now on dialysis and planning my next trip for the end of July (before a hopeful kidney transplant) and thanks to dialysis I feel almost normal again.

 

[Burnedout]

Sometimes people have unrealistic expectations, or think of solely the "good old days". My last time to Disney was not fun and it had nothing to do with Disney. I have ESRD (Kidney failure) and the last time I went (December of 2012), my water overload was so bad that I couldn't walk 50 feet without being out of breathe. I am now on dialysis and planning my next trip for the end of July (before a hopeful kidney transplant) and thanks to dialysis I feel almost normal again.

I hope your trip is awesome!!!

 

[Disneychick75]

If your FP+ line at Disney is long, though, you have no other options other than wait it out for that ride (or ride standby, and "waste" your FP since it will expire after the time allotted). At Universal, your EP will get your front of the access at any other ride, anytime. If Hulk's EP line is too long, you can pick another attraction immediately and use your EP privileges there. No fiddling with scheduling a ride time on your cell phone app then being a slave to the FP+ window. Then go back later, and ride Hulk with your EP when the line is more acceptable to you.

I am not saying the EP system at Universal is perfect. But it has Disney's counterpart beat by a country mile for ease of use and overall benefits to guests.

Excellent points

I think that people who frequent Disney boards have a different vision of WDW than people who do not. I am taking my friend in October, and she has been several times. In my opinion, she did nothing, but she had a great tie. If I had not shared my experience with her, she never would have known the difference. For many FP+ is a great invention because they never even used FP well, so now they have a better chance to get to their favorite attractions. I have no idea how I will feel, October is my first time using FP+.

I think that we also need to respect that some people re going to be upset with the changes. They are not all positive for frequent flyers. They just are not. WE lost our beloved RIverside PARk and got Six Flags NE. Based on the traffic, long lines, and crowded pathways, a lot of people love this, but not me. Went two time and will never enter again. I do not ridicule those people who are okay with the change, the cost and the constant money mongering. The OP has experienced what he finds to be unpleasant, and he is justified in his opinion. I think the food has gone downhill, and the cost to eat it has increased.

I really wish someone could discuss their experience. Disney is not offended if someone is unhappy with the change.

Yes, FP+ is probably good for some people. For those of us traveling with little ones or with an autistic child, it's not so good. We've been slammed with 2 major changes, FP+ and DAS, neither of which enhance the Disney experience.

There are a few points you raised in your opening post where I have different views, but on this point I agree. I think where the change has come in is that even though they were always 'for profit' they made the guest feel like it was 'for you'. It is glaringly apparent now that Disney is [openly] focused on the profit side and whether perceived or actual, it certainly translates to the guest as a decline in the value of the visitor.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner
My husband, daughter, her boyfriend and I made a game of counting the number of smiling CMs because most were grouchy. Some blame the guests, I say if CMs cannot handle the pressure from guests, they should find other employment. Only once did we go to check out an item and the CM was not talking to another CM. They kept talking too and didn't seem to care that lines were building. Wonder how Disney feels about that. Guests can't spend money someplace else if check outs are taking forever.

I checked here, called Disney CRO 3 times and IT once to make sure we were set to go with our APs. Yes was what we heard. Got there and my AP wouldn't work. The CM said I had to go to GR and have it activated. Those in our party with regular tickets had no problem getting into the park. The people waiting with me were furious too. The prevailing attitude was "Disney has our money so they don't care if they provide good service to us." I saw one CM and commented that I felt like I was at Wal Mart with too few checkers. Others around me agreed. After being in line for about 30 minutes, they finally sent people from inside to help speed the line along.

Until Universal offers the ability to ride a monorail, take a boat ride, walk along a Boardwalk, and have access to multiple resorts (not just 3) the "value" will never even be close. If Universal was the size of WDW, FOTL would not be possible.

You need to go to Universal and see for yourself that there is boat transportation. Not only is there City Walk but Portofino Bay has a gorgeous "boardwalk" area that replicates an Italian square. Not to mention, there are pedicabs and the ability to walk to the parks from the 3 original Universal resorts.

LOL I doubt it's a few. Complainers are just more vocal. I'm sure there are plenty of people who think the food is good.

The food is awful. We just got back and the only food I could eat was at the character breakfasts.

Great point. But if you're at Universal for a week, you may pool hop because you've done everything. Less likely at WDW.

Have you been? Doesn't sound like it because there is a lot to do or not if that's your choice. I know we can relax at Universal because we don't feel the need to book rides 60 days in advance or make dining reservations 6 months ahead of time. When you go to WDW, do you go to a park just once? We don't at WDW and we don't at Universal either.

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

I understand the profit thing. My point is, they've ALWAYS been for profit and it's been (relatively) lately they've been moving in the direction they've been going. So, it doesn't HAVE to be that way. You can still make money and provide a great product.

Sorry to hear that you were disappointed with it. I was there right before the FP+ started (actually I think select guests were used to test them at the time) so I don't know how they are working. The increased emphasis (even more so) on profit seems to be a national thing these days.

 

[TwinPrincessMermaids]

.... and then wants to complain after the fact about things they could have planned ahead for!

Sheesh, I planned and planned for a year. Our trip wasn't perfectly magical thanks to the tier system and I refuse to take the blame for it. I think its easy to blame people and say "they didn't know how the system worked, they weren't really prepared or planned" but some of us have REALLy REALLY tried, and in my opinion, it is much worse than it was last year. The evidence is there when we planned a trip in less than 3 weeks for Land & Sea, hopped 4 parks in a day (MK twice!) PLUS had ADR for 8 people at the Contemporary Grill (made a week ahead of time), and we rode and rode all day. Best Disney trip I've EVER had and it was only 4 days long, one at the parks, 3 on the Dream.

So I planned this one for the family for a year, we got great FPs early on, but we had a group of 8 of us at HS and I couldn't get everyone out the door by 8, so we got to the park at 9:05 and you all know the rest from there. That day, this is what we got:
-ToT, GMR, ST, RnRc (finally after being broken down quite a bit of the day with long waits too), Muppets3D, Animation drawing, Voyage Lil Mermaid, Brown Derby Dinner, TSMM (80 min wait), ran and finally made Fantastmic. We fought and got the things we liked, but normally I can ride multiples or single rider etc several times over, and this time, we were fighting the clock and the lines the entire time.

10 things for the entire day, and one of them is dinner. This is evidence that something isn't working right, when we could literally hop 4 parks and ride all day the year before PLUS a sit down dinner off park, and we did so TWICE on two separate trips in different months and on a Saturday no less.

In any case, I get really perturbed when people feel like they can blame us for being unhappy. I sort of felt the same way from the Carnival board after I was so disappointed in my last CCL. But I had cruise CCL several times before, just like I've been to Disney many times before, and I KNEW what to compare it with.

We had nice CMs (except the ones who didn't want to less us in to Fantasmic with our paid for dinner vouchers?), amazing food, and all the crowded people were friendly. But the crowds were horribly mismanaged, the rides were breaking down all day, families everywhere were so frustrated with the FP (you could hear it), and there were masses of people everywhere (and I've gone on T-giving week), and so while I had planned and planned, I could not have planned anymore, I still refuse to take the blame for my dissatisfaction this year. It was ALLLMMMOOOSSTTTTT good though, it they opened up to even like 5 FP a day for EVERY one and got rid of the tier system, I think it could be really nice!

 

[sethschroeder]

This one line pretty much says it all. Disney seems to be clearly heading down the path where everything must be planned in advance and that I fear will be the straw that breaks the back of most vacationers.

Got a solution, how about you and 10,000,000 of your closest friends don't go to MK next year? There I solved the issue of having to plan. Now on to world peace after I see how the MLB Draft is doing....

 

[CTDisneyfan816]

I hope your trip is awesome!!!

Thanks! I will lose 4 hours 3 of the days to Dialysis, however hoping I get the same time I did when I visited frends in Myrtle Beach, SC two weeks ago (4:35 in the morning) that way I will be done by 9:30 and will have the rest of the day. Just looking forward to enjoying the parks and seeing it all. I literally had to stop after doing half of Magic Kingdom last time.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

That said, I don't understand someone taking the time to come here and complain about their vacation AFTER THE FACT, and not taking the time BEFORE their trip to find out about FP+, Magicbands, etc.

My last trip was October of 2013 -- before FP+ (at least for me - they may have been testing it for some). I have not set foot on Disney property since then. However, because of these boards, I know (a) when my FP+ window opens, and (b) which attractions to prioritize. I know that the only attractions I'm likely to have a problem scheduling advance fastpass plus with are (1) A&E, (2) 7DMT and perhaps (3) Toy Story. As far as other "popular attractions", I have no indication that I will have trouble booking those ... when my fastpass window opens, and probably for some time after.

I don't understand not educating yourself.

Actually, I take that back. It's fine if you choose not to educate yourself, but I don't understand complaining about it if that is the road you chose.

I also don't see why fastpasses or lack thereof will make or break your vacation. Even if you couldn't book the fastpasses you wanted, you could still show up at rope drop, right?

No, no, no. RD doesn't work as well.

And I always appreciate the irony of people complaining about people who complain.

The dining plan and the streamlining of the restaurants has made WDW dining a shadow of its past...but it doesn't uniformly "suck." There are still places to get great food. There are just fewer of them. And yes, the prices are skyrocketing...what prices aren't.

Citywalk has some good restaurants. I am not a fan of Mythos. I had a bad experience there, much like folks report on these boards when they have a bad experience at a WDW restaurant.



It's nothing to do with free dining. Free dining is a resort discount and not a restaurant discount. The restaurants do not pay for free dining - the resorts do.

It's more to do with the fact that WDW wants guests to be on a dining plan so they'll eat at WDW and not go someplace else, and the restaurants get reimbursed by Disney for DDP orders. They get reimbursed only a certain amount, so they have less to work with.

See below

(bold added by me)

No, you didn't HAVE TO do anything. You didn't have to go. You didn't have to ride it at all. You didn't have to NOT make FP+ in advance. You didn't have to NOT educate yourself about FP+. Nobody put a gun to your head.

You made choices, and things didn't turn out the way you wanted.

Last trip, the new mermaid ride was new to us. We went to it EARLY because we knew it would be packed. That's always been the deal. New attractions are uber-popular, not because they're awesome (maybe they are, maybe they're not), but because they're new. You and I are light years beyond so many Disney visitors because we know it's new. We know it will be packed, and we know to plan ahead.

Before, the plan would have been to rope-drop it or fast pass it. Now, the plan is rope drop it or fastpass plus it. Granted, you MAY have to make that decision ahead of time now. That's how it is. I don't like it better than the old system, but spending the $$ on the vacation, hiding my head in the sand and griping is not going to turn back time.

If you invest the $$$ in the vacation, I don't understand not investing the time in educating yourself about the system. And if you choose not to, I don't understand griping and acting like it's someone else's fault.

Everyone has their tipping point. If the OP reached theirs, they did. I don't like FP+ because it made RD less valuable.

Sorry but the DDP has EVERYTHING to do with the food sucking. That is when they standardized ALL of the food (other than a few signature places) to get it ALL from the same place (obviously) to save money. They anticipated making a LOT more food. The problem is, whomever they chose to get the food from provides inferior food.

Not DDP in particular but the popularity of free dining.

You're right. It shouldn't be so complicated. I (and probably loads of others) are with you on that.

However, right or wrong, FP+ is the new reality. Either you spend some time (I think "hours" is an exaggeration) researching it or there is a price to be paid. (The same was true of the previous system, if you were a first time visitor. You and I (and plenty of others) just knew it by heart. It sucks that it changed.)

Whether you want to continue to visit Disney World is certainly up to you. However, the outcome of your vacation can't be laid solely at the feet of Disney, since you had the power to better it and you chose not to.

Wow, blame the victim.

Absolutely, I spent more time researching and planning but that doesn't mean I have to like it.

Regarding food prices:

DUDE - you knew that before you went! The prices are public knowledge.

That's like going 4th of July weekend and saying, "OMG, it was so hot and the lines were so long."

If he has been going for 20 years and has noticed a diminished quality and value, DUDE, he's right.

Maybe you didn't but someone else did. I even quoted them. They said free dining made the food suck. It didn't. The resorts pay for free dining, the restaurants have nothing to do with making it free.

I wasn't responding to you, plenty of persons are posting on this thread.

I very much disagree with this statement. One of the best parts of my vacation is eating out. We've been going for years with 2 -3 TS/day before free dining, during free dining and now. I've watched my favorite appetizers disappear, portion sizes go down (the cheese soup at Le Cellier will eventually be served in a thimble) and pricier entrees removed from menus. Before free dining there was never a thread on maximizing the DDP, once free dining hit, they over came the Dining thread and now there is a separate subform for the DDP.

It absolutely is my experience that free dining negatively impacted dining at WDW. Restaurants are paid x/ddp diner not what ever was spent like an OOP diner. Less revenue per diner diminished quality.

For someone with an annual pass thought you would know the golden rule:
DISNEY IS CONFUSING AND COMPLICATED!

Why do they have a whole sections on Disney in the bookstore about the same size as Rhode Island?

Why are there a multitude of businesses who's sole purpose is to plan a Disney vacation?

One of the purposes of Magic Bands is to make it less complicated. I agree with previous posters. I enjoy planning my vactations but this is the most time I ever had to spend and because of some glitches in the MDE website, the most stressful

If you want a simple vacation go somewhere else because its not changing. No complaining is going to make it easier either and people keep coming so its only going to get more crowded. Most people plan a year or so out so for now people are coming but when you start dissapointing repeat customers, what happens then. Also, I cancelled all our upcoming TS lunches. Too much scheduling involved, WDW may never notice this loss in income

I know 4 things going into Disney:
1.) Its going to be crowded I know that too, having gone peak and value season there is no comparison. My experience is that FP+ made traveling during crowded season less managable. SB lines at RD were longer. We got to do, and see less. Why should I be happy about that?
2.) Its going to be expensive Everyone has their own breaking point on what is expensive. Sounds like the OP hit his, we won't be renewing our AP's either. 3 rides and out is not a good value
3.) I have to plan my must dos ahead of time otherwise we might not get to them Limiting flexiblity did not make me happy
4.) I am still going to have a blast as if I don't get around to something its not the end of the world I have prepared but not everything will go right Again, everyone has their own breaking point. If I am used to going on Soarin' and TT twice in one day the Sat. before Easter but now have to settle for less. Why should I be happy?

Totally understand the need to "plan". But, for ME, this UBER PLANNING way of thinking defeats the purpose of "VACATION ".

As for Disney food, I live in the food capital of the country - the NY/NJ area. Except for our three trips to Europe, no food compares to what we can get in our area. Disney food can't hold a candle to it! ;-)

I agree. I live within a 2 hour drive of NYC and we go there every other month for a weekend with eating and shopping the big draws. There is no other city other than New Orleans that can hold a candle to it.

Dining out is an important part of my vacation. I am an excellent cook but enjoy innovative meals I don't have to clean up after.

Disney food can't hold a candle to NYC.

Maybe you should just take a break from Disney for a few years or just stop going.

I never understood this sentiment. Without people going to WDW there would be no capital to make improvements. How much are you willing to spend for an empty park? Instead of picking up my marbles and stomping off I'd rather they fix what I don't like.

the locals supported WDW after 911 when many people were afraid to travel.

Yes, so did I and WDW showed us no loyalty for that.

Sorry to the OP for having his opinion picked apart. If you've spent $$$ on a vacation and then being underwhelmed. I feel your pain.

 

[ZephyrHawk]

I am surprised that so many folks who have decided to no longer patronize WDW continue to lurk on an internet posting board dedicated primarily to planning of WDW vacations. That being said, for all you DVC members who have indicated that you're considering selling your DVC points in protest...can I buy them discounted? I'm buying a house this year so I thought it probably wouldn't be possible for me to spring for anything like DVC, but heck, if all you disenchanted folks are ready to give Disney a wash, perhaps I can give my toddler a nice Christmas present she can appreciate for the next couple decades!

 

[stamot]

Got a solution, how about you and 10,000,000 of your closest friends don't go to MK next year? There I solved the issue of having to plan. Now on to world peace after I see how the MLB Draft is doing....

I'm with you!!!

 

[sethschroeder]

They're doing well now, but others will catch up. I know it's hard to believe... However, I've seen it first hand having worked for a certain once extremely popular phone manufacturer that spent a lot of time milking its cash cows and not enough time watching as the competition built Harry Potter... sorry... iPhones.

Well, either way, I'm looking forward to my first visit in 30 years. However, I think I'll wait another 30 to visit one last time if Disney wants to keep the value so very low for us second class citizens. Hopefully for them they can cut a deal with Universal in the meantime, you know, because Disney hotels make everything else better, right? I figure in 30 years they'll have one hell of a theme park.

There is a difference in what you are describing about that certain phone manufacture.

1.) They were business based focus almost exclusively with development and technology (that was their value prop)
2.) Consumer growth in cell phones has risen
3.) Consumer growth was looking for a "personal" phone not a business based phone
4.) Business started to go the BYOD model (bring your own device) which left that certain phone manufacturer out of the equation

So in your model the market would need a drastic shift. The only way I would see this is if the current generation of children opt for Universal over Disney when they grow up. The biggest issue for Universal though is that Disney is still Disney and has great ideas like Frozen whereas Universal has to rely on outsourced idea creation and buying rights to get something beneficial in their theme parks.

 

[Disney Frenhines]

I must have been there at the same time as you roughly. I've never done the SW weekend before and I loved it so much that I'm thinking of going again next year. I saw lots of characters walking around, but, I came into the park quite late and didn't feel like standing out in the sun as it was roasting hot, I did the FP+ for Warwick Davis (excellent show) and that was a line in the sun and that was enough for me. Anyhow, I did queue for Darth Mall and picked up a few things including a lovely piece of artwork that I got back to the UK in one piece (phew)
I totally agree with you on the new Seven Dwarves ride, and opportunity missed by Disney as it is, as I said on another post, underwhelming.
Am I the only person to have had no problems with magic bands? I've done two trips with them and they have been perfect. I also love FP+, I also made FP+ reservations for rides well ahead and I am a really spur of the moment, wing it person, however I would decide the day before or morning of to change which park I planned to go in and could change FP+ accordingly, they are not set in stone, I even changed the time of Spaceship Earth to a later one when I realised I wasn't going to get to Epcot in time for my time slot, during that time slot, brilliant! And I even got a 4th FP for Soarin' at 5pm for 6.45pm one day, unheard of with the old system and best of all this 50 year old woman didn't have to flipping run to Toy Story Mania at rope drop to get a Fast Pass for 4pm when all the youngsters and young tour party leaders raced past her, wonderful. So, I love FP+ and you can do it all on your phone too.
With regards to Universal, I saw many pay for the Express Pass and complain that it was a waste of money when the queues are pathetic, which, in US they generally are. I do like the renewal cost for the US AP, only $120, I'm doing three trips this year to Orlando, so I'm delighted. I'm also thinking of renewing my WDW AP as I could get an extra trip in next year, with the 10% discount on shopping and other things I see it as fantastic value for money, theme parks in the UK are far more expensive and nowhere as good and look at Disney Paris, I last went there two years ago, it costs more to go there for a lot less time and quite frankly, it was disgusting, the Europeans have no concept of queuing, the CMs have no concept of what Disney magic is, the parks were open until 10pm (this was June) but, 80% of the rides closed at 6.30pm so the could set up the light show on Sleeping Beauty castle for 9pm. There are no shows, the Hyperion theatre used to have wonderful shows, now it is a fast food place (over priced, as is everything else) with a loop of old Disney cartoons instead. Give me WDW any day.
My biggest complaints for the last trips had nothing to do with Disney, but, with the behaviour of guests.
1. Doing flash photography on rides such as Ariel's Underwater Ride, POTC and HM amongst others is rude and distracting.
2. Single rider lines are made obsolete by groups who think they can persuade the CM to let them all on together when they get to the front and, sadly, some CMs did to shorten the SRL as, for example, Everest Stand by 40 minutes, single rider line 30 minutes. This is also a problem at US.
3. Wandering around a busy park staring at your phone screen or, again, in a darkened attraction, checking your FB or whatever, the lit up screen is rude and distracting, the world isn't going to end because you haven't checked your FB status for the duration of Carousel of Progress.
4. If you can't all get into queue at the same time because someone has to park the stroller or use the bathroom then please wait until you are all together before joining the queue, or don't send one person in and the rest join him when he reaches the front, saying 'excuse me' doesn't change the fact that it is rude, and when challenged bleating 'Disney is for Kids' or 'Where is your Disney Spirit?' doesn't cut it either. BTW, Walt Disney opened the parks for everyone and even the greatest Imagineer of the lot never imagined parents taking their kids to his parks only to be ignored in favour of cell phone and tablets, something I have seen a lot of in recent years and far more disturbing to me than anything the Disney corporation are doing.
5. Pin trading ruined by guests trading 'scrappers' with CMs. True you can't always tell them apart, but, to the CM who was clearly management trading with a guy with about 100 pins in a Ziploc bag, please don't unless you plan to destroy any scrappers found(I walked away from trading in disgust) Trading scrappers for genuine pins only encourages the idiots who buy them off Ebay and who knows that the monies earned by the Ebay sellers is being used for. Not to worry anyone, but, counterfeit goods are sold to fund terrorism, fact. Stop buying off Ebay (who refuse to do anything about about it despite claiming otherwise regarding counterfeit goods) and stem that market.
Anyway, that is the end of my rant, apologies if I offended anyone. I love Disney and the parks are a wonderful source of happiness to me, but, maybe I go in with genuine Disney spirit and not to look at all the negatives that aren't actually there.

Also regards to DLRP, hardly any characters, those that appeared had no CM or a disinterested one that allowed people to elbow others out of the way, Mary Poppins was classic as she organised the queue while the CM looked on yawning and smoking is allowed everywhere including in lines. However, it's rides are better than at WDW, Cinemagique and Crush Coaster are two original attractions that would do well at DHS and the other rides are actually better, it's a shame the rest of the parks and the hotels are pretty awful though and the rides on their own cannot persuade me to return any time soon when I get far better value at WDW.

 

[Bob Roberts]

I am surprised that so many folks who have decided to no longer patronize WDW continue to lurk on an internet posting board dedicated primarily to planning of WDW vacations. That being said, for all you DVC members who have indicated that you're considering selling your DVC points in protest...can I buy them discounted? I'm buying a house this year so I thought it probably wouldn't be possible for me to spring for anything like DVC, but heck, if all you disenchanted folks are ready to give Disney a wash, perhaps I can give my toddler a nice Christmas present she can appreciate for the next couple decades!

You will also get to pleasantly enjoy paying their overly inflated, overly priced dues each and every year. It doesn't take to many points these days to have your DVC dues higher then your home property tax. Can someone smell ripoff, cause I sure can. Mmmmmmmmmmm smells good.

 

[MichiganDVC]

There is always someone in our place who is drinking the kool-aid.

Kool-Aid Drinker
1. a person who still enjoys Walt Disney World despite the repeated attempts by killjoys to convince them of how badly it sucks.

Agree 100%. We felt like we were on VACATION at universal. We stayed on site for a week, yes a week! We lounged by the great pools, we strolled through city walk....

That's the one thing I really hate about Downtown Disney...how they force you to run through it! I think its really cool how you're allowed to stroll at City Walk.

Can't a guy be upset about something without you all attacking him about being upset.

Yeah, no. Its a discussion board. You can't put up what is actually a trip report and not expect comments that are contrary to your personal opinion or experiences. This isn't GadgetRick's personal blog, ya know.

 

[Disney Frenhines]

I did a weekend back in May and there were loads of Star Wars characters out near the "backlot." I mean, lots of them. Bounty hunters, talking stormtroopers, non-talking stormtroopers, jawas, clone troopers. The cantina band was hanging around up by Star Tours. Got pictures.

I can back you up on that. Plenty around.

 

[MaryKatesMom]

I am surprised that so many folks who have decided to no longer patronize WDW continue to lurk on an internet posting board dedicated primarily to planning of WDW vacations. That being said, for all you DVC members who have indicated that you're considering selling your DVC points in protest...can I buy them discounted? I'm buying a house this year so I thought it probably wouldn't be possible for me to spring for anything like DVC, but heck, if all you disenchanted folks are ready to give Disney a wash, perhaps I can give my toddler a nice Christmas present she can appreciate for the next couple decades!

Because some of us plan their vacations more than a year in advance and are stuck for awhile.

Because if we didn't spend an exorbitant amount of time planning our vacations someone will post we should have.

I must have been there at the same time as you roughly. I've never done the SW weekend before and I loved it so much that I'm thinking of going again next year. I saw lots of characters walking around, but, I came into the park quite late and didn't feel like standing out in the sun as it was roasting hot, I did the FP+ for Warwick Davis (excellent show) and that was a line in the sun and that was enough for me. Anyhow, I did queue for Darth Mall and picked up a few things including a lovely piece of artwork that I got back to the UK in one piece (phew)
I totally agree with you on the new Seven Dwarves ride, and opportunity missed by Disney as it is, as I said on another post, underwhelming.
Am I the only person to have had no problems with magic bands? I've done two trips with them and they have been perfect. I also love FP+, I also made FP+ reservations for rides well ahead and I am a really spur of the moment, wing it person, however I would decide the day before or morning of to change which park I planned to go in and could change FP+ accordingly, they are not set in stone, I even changed the time of Spaceship Earth to a later one when I realised I wasn't going to get to Epcot in time for my time slot, during that time slot, brilliant! And I even got a 4th FP for Soarin' at 5pm for 6.45pm one day, unheard of with the old system and best of all this 50 year old woman didn't have to flipping run to Toy Story Mania at rope drop to get a Fast Pass for 4pm when all the youngsters and young tour party leaders raced past her, wonderful. So, I love FP+ and you can do it all on your phone too.
With regards to Universal, I saw many pay for the Express Pass and complain that it was a waste of money when the queues are pathetic, which, in US they generally are. I do like the renewal cost for the US AP, only $120, I'm doing three trips this year to Orlando, so I'm delighted. I'm also thinking of renewing my WDW AP as I could get an extra trip in next year, with the 10% discount on shopping and other things I see it as fantastic value for money, theme parks in the UK are far more expensive and nowhere as good and look at Disney Paris, I last went there two years ago, it costs more to go there for a lot less time and quite frankly, it was disgusting, the Europeans have no concept of queuing, the CMs have no concept of what Disney magic is, the parks were open until 10pm (this was June) but, 80% of the rides closed at 6.30pm so the could set up the light show on Sleeping Beauty castle for 9pm. There are no shows, the Hyperion theatre used to have wonderful shows, now it is a fast food place (over priced, as is everything else) with a loop of old Disney cartoons instead. Give me WDW any day.
My biggest complaints for the last trips had nothing to do with Disney, but, with the behaviour of guests.
1. Doing flash photography on rides such as Ariel's Underwater Ride, POTC and HM amongst others is rude and distracting.
2. Single rider lines are made obsolete by groups who think they can persuade the CM to let them all on together when they get to the front and, sadly, some CMs did to shorten the SRL as, for example, Everest Stand by 40 minutes, single rider line 30 minutes. This is also a problem at US.
3. Wandering around a busy park staring at your phone screen or, again, in a darkened attraction, checking your FB or whatever, the lit up screen is rude and distracting, the world isn't going to end because you haven't checked your FB status for the duration of Carousel of Progress.
4. If you can't all get into queue at the same time because someone has to park the stroller or use the bathroom then please wait until you are all together before joining the queue, or don't send one person in and the rest join him when he reaches the front, saying 'excuse me' doesn't change the fact that it is rude, and when challenged bleating 'Disney is for Kids' or 'Where is your Disney Spirit?' doesn't cut it either. BTW, Walt Disney opened the parks for everyone and even the greatest Imagineer of the lot never imagined parents taking their kids to his parks only to be ignored in favour of cell phone and tablets, something I have seen a lot of in recent years and far more disturbing to me than anything the Disney corporation are doing.
5. Pin trading ruined by guests trading 'scrappers' with CMs. True you can't always tell them apart, but, to the CM who was clearly management trading with a guy with about 100 pins in a Ziploc bag, please don't unless you plan to destroy any scrappers found(I walked away from trading in disgust) Trading scrappers for genuine pins only encourages the idiots who buy them off Ebay and who knows that the monies earned by the Ebay sellers is being used for. Not to worry anyone, but, counterfeit goods are sold to fund terrorism, fact. Stop buying off Ebay (who refuse to do anything about about it despite claiming otherwise regarding counterfeit goods) and stem that market.
Anyway, that is the end of my rant, apologies if I offended anyone. I love Disney and the parks are a wonderful source of happiness to me, but, maybe I go in with genuine Disney spirit and not to look at all the negatives that aren't actually there.

Also regards to DLRP, hardly any characters, those that appeared had no CM or a disinterested one that allowed people to elbow others out of the way, Mary Poppins was classic as she organised the queue while the CM looked on yawning and smoking is allowed everywhere including in lines. However, it's rides are better than at WDW, Cinemagique and Crush Coaster are two original attractions that would do well at DHS and the other rides are actually better, it's a shame the rest of the parks and the hotels are pretty awful though and the rides on their own cannot persuade me to return any time soon when I get far better value at WDW.

TLTR